Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly has 767 NHL games to his credit and has never faced supplemental discipline from the league.
But his cross-check to the head of Ottawa’s Ridly Greig in the dying moments of the Senators’ 5-3 win Saturday night will put that to the test.
“I’m sure they’ll look at it,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game, while backing Rielly’s actions.
It was an emotional game. The Canadian Tire Centre was split between fan bases chanting support all evening, and the officials largely put away their whistles in a Battle of Ontario that won’t soon be forgotten.
Trailing 4-3, the Leafs had pulled goalie Martin Jones, trying desperately to tie the game. But a William Nylander pass attempt from the blue line was intercepted by Shane Pinto, who fed Greig for a breakaway with the net empty. To put an exclamation mark on the win for Senators fans, he fired a slapshot into the empty cage.
That rankled Rielly, who skated after Greig, caught him at the boards and cross-checked him. Though Rielly’s stick may have glanced off Greig’s shoulder pad, it hit him fully in the face and the Senator fell to the ice. A melee ensued, and Greig was helped off the ice by a member of Ottawa’s training staff.
“I thought (Rielly’s reaction) was appropriate,” Keefe told reporters in Ottawa outside the visitors’ dressing room. “He’s reacting to a play. Their player has the right to react in that moment, and our players have the right to react. That’s the emotion of the game.”
Rielly was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct. He was not made available to the media, but teammates rallied to his support.
“We didn’t like the result on the empty-netter,” said Leafs captain John Tavares. “We’re going to stick together and stand our ground when necessary.”
“In a situation like that, we stick together,” said teammate Max Domi, whose third-period goal brought the Leafs to within one. “We didn’t like that. Emotional game. No matter what happens, from puck drop to the final buzzer, we’re going to stick together.”
“That was a stupid thing to do there by their guy,” added Jones.
Keefe put out his fourth line featuring noted pugilist Ryan Reaves for the final six seconds, though nothing came of it.
The Leafs have been criticized for failing to show emotion or respond when pushed. Rielly’s response may have crossed a line.
Over in the Senators room, the events were interpreted quite differently.
“Rid’s play (Greig’s slapshot) was pretty funny,” Pinto told TSN 1260. “That was interesting at the end. Tough play all around. They thought they had to do that. I hope Rids (Greig) is OK.”
The Senators won three of four meetings with the Leafs this season.
“(It’s good) any time you beat the Leafs at home, especially on a Saturday,” said Ottawa forward Josh Norris. “Never really know what Greig is going to do. I loved it. But I’m sure if we were on the other side of it. I don’t know if we would like it, either. I didn’t like their retaliation, but it’s over with. I guess it was entertaining.”
Leafs all-star Auston Matthews got a two-game suspension for a similar play against Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin two seasons ago. Earlier this season, Detroit Red Wings forward David Perron was suspended six games for cross-checking Senators defenceman Artem Zub in the head.
If Rielly ends up suspended — quite likely, given the circumstances and timing late in the game — it will come at a time when the Leafs blue line is reeling somewhat. Mark Giordano missed Saturday’s game with an undisclosed injury suffered Wednesday, with Keefe suggesting it would be more than day-to-day. Also Conor Timmins was ill, so William Lagesson played for the first time in 17 games.
Hot and cold
So, just who are the Leafs? Are they the team that can beat some of the best in the NHL? Or are they the team that loses regularly to the cellar dwellers?
They appear to be both, and that makes them completely baffling. That is who they were when the season began, and that’s who they are 51 games in.
Coming out of the all-star break, they have lost twice to non-playoff teams (also the New York Islanders) and beaten one of the best, the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars.
“Any time you lose in the NHL, it’s not a great feeling,” said Tavares.
One of the issues is offence. When the top four forwards score, they’re OK as they were in Wednesday’s win over Dallas. Matthews, Tavares, Nylander and Mitch Marner had scored 10 of the team’s last 11 goals coming into the game, with defenceman Simon Benoit adding the other, an empty netter.
True to script, Matthews opened the scoring in Ottawa. It was his 42nd of the season, extending his point streak to nine. He’s the first NHLer to get to 42 goals before 50 games since Jaromir Jagr in 1996-97.
Knies and Domi
Secondary scoring has been light for most of the last 20 games or so, though there were signs Saturday that would turn around. Domi and Matt Knies ended prolonged slumps.
“They’re big parts of our team and players who can generate offence,” Tavares said of Knies and Domi. “Great to see them get on the board and contribute tonight.”